Baby orangutans in India expose illegal wildlife trade as experts question a billionaire’s zoo

Five baby orangutans, three males and two females aged 6 to 8 months, were found abandoned on a plantation in Odisha, eastern India, more than 2,700 kilometres from their native Borneo and Sumatra, after villagers spotted them in early September. They are now at an Indian zoo, where keepers have reportedly played classical music to soothe them. Experts said the discovery points to a growing illicit trade in apes trafficked into India, which Sinan Serhadli of the Orangutan Information Centre called the number one destination for live primate trade. Uttara Mendiratta, a wildlife trafficking researcher, said wealthy collectors drive demand. Serhadli questioned whether 41 orangutans imported by India between 2021 and 2024 were legitimately captive-bred; CITES declined to comment, saying the matter was under review. Indonesia's Ministry of Forestry said it was taking active steps to repatriate the orangutans and had sent experts. The infants' mothers were likely killed. An orangutan transferred last year to Vantara, a private facility run by Mukesh Ambani's family, was returned to Indonesia on October 19 after 19 months. India's forest ministry did not respond to requests for comment.

Where accounts differ. Kyodo News and UNB report that Vantara's statement said it fully supported the orangutan's return, a response that appears only in Kyodo News, while The Daily Waadaa and UNB do not include it.

United News of Bangladesh (UNB)The Daily WaadaaKyodo News

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